Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Malvids: Sapindales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Rhus copallinum +
FAMILY
Anacardiaceae
NEW! Click to go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Winged Sumac at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
The Linnaean epithet "Copallinum" (traditionally capitalized) is grammatically a noun in apposition rather than an adjective, and therefore does not change grammatical gender [thus "copallinum" not "copallina"]. Read more in Weakley's Flora (2022).
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhus copallinum +
FAMILY
Anacardiaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 110-01-007:
Rhus copallina
FAMILY
Anacardiaceae
COMMON NAME:
Winged Sumac, Shining Sumac, Dwarf Sumac
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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JK Marlow jkm191222_2361_r_copallin
Clay County AL
Cheaha State Park
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JK Marlow jkm200502_4540
May Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm0306i_25
June Transylvania County NC
Dupont State Forest
Rachis with green marginal wings between leaflets. Leaflet margins entire, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide.
COMPARE
leaves of Sumac and Tree-of-heaven
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JK Marlow jkm0307i_24
July Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
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JK Marlow jkm0307n_18
July Greenville County SC
Roadside
Inflorescence terminates stem or branches and extends well above the leaves, per Wildflowers of Tennessee.
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JK Marlow jkm0308l_04
August Greenville County SC
Fruits are red, densely hairy, roundish but somewhat flattened, per Wildflowers of Tennessee.
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JK Marlow jkm200808_6968
August Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
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JK Marlow jkm200808_6969
August Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
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Keith Bradley kab_rhus_copallinum_73479
August Miami-Dade County FL
Dense showy panicle, to 12" tall, of very small yellowish flowers, per Wildflowers of Tennessee.
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Keith Bradley kab_rhus_copallinum_73498
August Miami-Dade County FL
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Keith Bradley kab_rhus_copallinum_73528
August Miami-Dade County FL
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Stephanie C. Brundage scb_083021hayesville26
August Clay County NC
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JK Marlow jkm0410j_17
October Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
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JK Marlow s041023_a
October Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
Leaflets number 7-21. A shrub that produces masses of reddish fall color, per Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Rhus copallinum +
FAMILY
Anacardiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhus copallinum +
FAMILY
Anacardiaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 110-01-007:
Rhus copallina
FAMILY
Anacardiaceae
1236
Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Look for it in dry woodlands, and also (depending on variety) in sandhills or rocky glades or maritime thickets, per Weakley's Flora
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Has milky sap (latex)
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Odd-pinnately compound: 9-11(23) leaflets
Alternate
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Greenish-yellow/White
Usually bisexual
4-5 sepals
4-5 petals
4-5 stamens
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Red
Drupe
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses p376
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South p071
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee p314
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers p078
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC p401
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p114
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast p086
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide p064
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide p320
- Guide to the Plants of Granite Outcrops p71
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia p299
- Trees of the Southeastern United States p080
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry p211
- Wildflowers of Tennessee p166
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge p09
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont p306
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide p292
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region p070